Nvidia launches GeForce 9M series notebook GPUs

Nvidia has taken the wraps off its next generation notebook-oriented graphics chip line, dubbed the GeForce 9M series. Besides promising 40 percent faster performance than its predecessor, the 9M series brings Hybrid SLI to notebooks, which allows a discrete GPU and an integrated GPU to work together, save power and deliver maximum performance when needed.

All of the new GPUs incorporate PureVideo HD and support DVI, HDMI 1.3, DisplayPort 1.1, and Blu-ray Profile 2.0. But unlike some of ATI’s latest graphics offerings, the new 9M series will not support DirectX 10.1. The new GPUs fall into three main categories, including the value sector which will be represented by the GeForce 9100M G, the mainstream sector featuring the GeForce 9400M, 9300M GS, and 9200M GS, and finally the performance sector which bolsters the top of the line 9600M GT.

The company didn't say when the GeForce 9M family members will ship exactly, but it suggested that machines incorporating them will launch “this summer” with PhysX support to come in Q3 via beta drivers.